Local artists and creative folks are invited to take part in an unusual contest: Build the best cigarette butt receptacle for the San Lorenzo Valley.
The Valley Women’s Club Environmental Committee will offer cash prizes for the community’s favorite receptacles as part of its “The Butt Stops Here” contest, which ends June 1.
“There are so many cigarette butts on the ground,” said Nancy Macy, environmental committee member. “We thought, what can we do to make cigarette smokers aware that there are toxins stored in the butts?”
The committee came up with the idea of a receptacle contest after a discussion of non-point source pollution — in this case, the millions of discarded cigarette butts that are washed into storm drains and then into creeks and rivers each year.
A common misconception is that butts are biodegradable, Macy said, when in fact the filters are made of acetate plastic and take years to break down.
Also, the chemicals in a cigarette butt can harm fish or other wildlife, according to a 2009 study by public health researcher Richard Gersberg at San Diego State University.
“The big part of this is, ‘Hey, cigarette smokers, you really have a responsibility to keep them off the ground,’ and we’ve never been taught that,” Macy said.
The committee brainstormed ways to cut down on the number of butts flung to the ground in the San Lorenzo Valley, and now the Valley Women’s Club is soliciting handmade cigarette butt receptacles to place throughout the valley.
“We would like to get them out to each of the liquor stores, bars, coffee shops, markets and post offices,” Macy said.
Mark Becker and his 11-year old son, Quinn Becker, a San Lorenzo Valley Middle School student, are already involved in the effort.
“If we can just get people to not throw them to the ground and get them to the spot where they can be appropriately disposed of, the problem goes away,” Becker said.
Quinn helped design the logo for the contest, along with Stephanie Sakasai, and is interested in keeping local waterways clean.
The club is also approaching merchants to provide places for the receptacles and hopes to find sponsors to pay for contest prizes and buy additional receptacles.
At a glance
Rules of “The Butt Stops Here” contest, sponsored by Valley Women’s Club’s Environmental Committee:
– Individuals or teams can compete
– Receptacles for cigarette butts can be stand-alone or wall-mounted.
– Entries are due by June 1.
– Receptacles must be functional and durable.
– Winners (first, second and third place) will be determined by voters online and at the Redwood Mountain Faire.
– For information: Nancy Macy, 345-1555; or http://thebuttstopshere.vwcweb.org
